


so let’s runaway (to wherever your heart wants to be)

by tmwshj



Series: tales of the song empire [1]
Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Castles, Fluff, M/M, adventure in castles, gardenboy!minhee, minisong, prince!hyeongjun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23464441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwshj/pseuds/tmwshj
Summary: young heir to the throne, song hyeongjun, finds himself facing another sleepless night when he meets garden boy, kang minhee, who just so happens to also be awake at such an ungodly hour.inspired by eric nam's runaway!
Relationships: Kang Minhee/Song Hyeongjun
Series: tales of the song empire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1910653
Comments: 14
Kudos: 71





	so let’s runaway (to wherever your heart wants to be)

**Author's Note:**

> it's another 1am au! and yes i am SO satisfied with myself, y'all don't even know how much i've been wanting to write about prince!hyeongjun 🥺
> 
> please listen to runaway by eric nam if you haven't! because its such a bop i love it so much :"))

it isn’t easy being next in line for the throne.

young prince, song hyeongjun, finds himself tossing and turning one sleepless night, mind wandering off to various faraway places. groaning for the nth time in two hours, he sat up begrudgingly, rubbing his sleep-laced eyes.

hyeongjun turned eighteen a month ago, and on that same day, his father, the king, announced that he would be stepping off the throne, with hyeongjun taking his place. he was beyond stressed by the sudden decision, and was thrown into a frenzy of trainings, having to sit through various classes to prepare him for his duties.

coming to terms with the fact that this was to be another sleepless night, hyeongjun slips off his silk sheets and tip-toes to his bedroom door, pressing an ear against it. like every royal family, the songs had guards patrolling the castle hallways every second of the day, but hyeongjun, being the playful only child, has always found a way to sneak past them. hearing the clanking of metal suits pass by, he creaks open the door and tip-toes into one of the castle’s hallways.

hyeongjun walks barefoot through the castles, his feet taking him to a hallway lined with pictures of the great kings of the kingdom. his fingers brush against the golden frame of his father’s portrait, his eyes landing on his empty one next to it which would be filled with a painting of himself in a week’s time. the thought, along with the night breeze from a nearby open window, causes his hair to stand up. hyeongjun sighs.

it wasn’t the first time he resented being the next ruler of the kingdom. while boys his age were frolicking around the wheat fields and riding their bicycles through the bustling marketplace, he was stuck in a castle as old as time, waiting for the day that he wished would never come. the red carpet tickled the underside of his feet as he continued wandering through the castle’s hallways, lit with thousands of glowing candles. despite living here for eighteen years, each night that hyeongjun had snuck out, he always managed to find a new secret to the age-old castle.

that night, hyeongjun stumbles across the one of the living quarters of the castle’s many servants. it was nearing 1am, and well, all of them should be asleep anyways, hyeongjun figures, taking a quick peek into the pitch-black room.

he makes a mental note, that when he becomes king, he ought to give his servants some proper lighting.

like he expected, the world was seemed to stand still with the peaceful faces and quiet snores of the servants, until his eyes land on a figure leaning against the frame of the singular window in the room. squinting, he takes a closer look at the figure, whose features were illuminated by moonlight filtering through the window. it was a boy who he recognised as the royal garden’s garden boy, often seen pulling out weeds and assisting a middle-age woman with tending the various flowers in the garden. hyeongjun didn’t know his name, and seeing that they were the only people awake this early in the morning, he decides that it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

hyeongjun clears his throat quietly, so quietly that he wondered if he even did it at all. the boy flinches and turns towards him quickly, his eyes immediately widening once he recognised hyeongjun.

“your highness!” the boy whisper-shouted, dropping to his knees with a muffled thud.

hyeongjun, flabbergasted, rushes into the room (breaking one of the castle’s many rules while doing so) to pull the boy up. “uh, you may rise.” he frantically whispers while pulling the boy up by the arm.

the boy’s eyes darted around the room, “i’m sorry your highness. i’ll go to bed immediately. i apologise greatly for my actions-” the boy rambled, unsure of what to do when the prince approaches you at 1am in your sleeping quarters.

“shh. it’s alright. i’m breaking a few rules here myself …” hyeongjun says, trying to calm the boy down (and to not wake the rest of the sleeping servants).

the few awkward moments pass, as the two boys from two different worlds think of what would be the best thing to do next.

hyeongjun helps them decide, linking arms with the garden boy and dragging him out of the room. “you can’t sleep right? let’s explore.” he whispers hurriedly to the latter.

the light of the hallways blind them as they step out of the living quarters. hyeongjun rubs his eyes as he removes himself from the boy, mumbling, “so, what’s your name?”

“m-minhee. kang minhee. your highness.”

“it’s 1am, drop the formalities and call me hyeongjun.” he replies, waving his hands nonchalantly as he takes in the features of the garden boy, whose face was gently illuminated by the light of the candles. he had rough, unkempt hair, probably from tossing and turning in bed like hyeongjun, freckles dotting his cheeks and eyes round and doe-like. hyeongjun felt his tummy do a spin because he had functioning eyes, and they acknowledge that this garden boy was indeed, very handsome.

“minhee. you have a nice name.”

“thank you, your highness.”

“call me hyeongjun. it’s an order.”

“sorry. thank you, uh, hyeongjun.”

hyeongjun chuckles at how nervous minhee was, as the pair walk side by side through the empty hallway of the castle.

“minhee, how old are you?”

“i’m eighteen, just like you… hyeongjun.”

hyeongjun’s face lights up as he turns to face the taller boy.

“really? that’s so cool! i’ve never met someone my age before!” hyeongjun claps excitedly, his steps having an extra bounce to them.

“oh? the other boys and i always thought that you had prince friends that you can talk to…” minhee trails off, his heart falling when he realised that hyeongjun probably never had friends before.

“nope! and what other boys?” hyeongjun practically gleams, ecstatic that there were probably more boys around his age that he could (potentially) befriend.

“ah. there’s wonjin and allen, assistants to the head chef, jungmo, serim and taeyoung, sons of the three head guards. woobin, the youngest of the butlers, then there’s seongmin and i, who help out in the royal garden.” minhee lists out.

“ah, there’s so many…” hyeongjun replies, shocked. the two were about to turn a corner, until hyeongjun hears the familiar clanking of metal suits. he jumps and pulls minhee into the room he recognised as the library, pushing minhee behind one of the bookcases. murmurs in the hallways grew louder and louder as the guards drew closer to the opened door of the library.

“i definitely heard something, i swear to god i did!” one of the guards said, footsteps getting closer and closer to the pair who were hiding behind the bookcase. hyeongjun widens his eyes, pulling minhee downwards so that they were both squatting down and placed a tentative finger to minhee’s lips, telling him to not make a sound. with fear inching through his body, minhee can only comply; after all, if they got caught, minhee may be punished for sneaking out of his living quarters, a severe offense for all servants.

“you’re hallucinating. that’s why they don’t give you night shifts.” a different guard scoffs, walking away and leaving the first guard behind. the first guards mumbles something under his breath before following him, the dragging of metal becoming quieter and quieter until it was silent again.

the two boys let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding, bursting into a fit of giggles.

“don’t scare me like that again!” minhee unconsciously hits hyeongjun’s shoulder while laughing.

hyeongjun pauses for a moment and minhee realises what he has done.

“oh my- i’m so sorry your highness!” minhee turns pale, quickly shifting himself into a deep bow. “if you’re upset, i can excuse myself-”

“why did you hit me?”

minhee hesitantly looks up to meet hyeongjun’s eyes – except that hyeongjun wasn’t angry, but instead, curious.

“oh, uh, when i get excited, i hit those around me. just as a reflex, you could say.” minhee explains slowly.

“ah, i see.” hyeongjun nods his head, like he just discovered some profound knowledge about the universe. “alright, get up.”

minhee scrambles to his feet immediately, not daring to look the prince in the eyes.

_thwap._

minhee flinches at the sharp blow to his left shoulder. he looks up to see hyeongjun looking at him worriedly. “i’m sorry! did that hurt?” hyeongjun asks, hands moving to minhee’s arm to rub circles on it.

“no, no! but why did you hit me?” minhee asks, scratching his head.

“you said you hit people when you’re excited. and i’m excited. so i hit you!” hyeongjun replies with a bright smile on his face, eyes curving into two crescent-shaped moons. “but…by the looks of it, i probably did it wrong huh?” he scratches his neck awkwardly, face turning a scarlet red.

minhee found this overwhelmingly endearing, and if hyeongjun wasn’t the prince, he would have pinched his cheeks by now. he let out a chuckle, opting for a simple pat on hyeongjun’s head instead, his height allowing him to do so as he towered over the young prince. “yeah. but it’s alright.”

hyeongjun, still scarlet red, returns the gesture with an awkward smile. he felt his heart start to drum louder and his tummy do a flip in his body, like he was about the throw up. hyeongjun (who was largely unfamiliar with the concept of … catching feelings, after all, he only read about it in books) stumbles onto minhee, who caught him in his arms.

“your highness- i mean, hyeongjun! are you alright?” minhee asks worriedly. “we should return to your room now.” minhee pulls hyeongjun out of the library and starts to make his way towards the tower where the prince’s room was located.

“no!” hyeongjun protests.

minhee immediately stops in his tracks. after all, he was under the command of the king.

“i- i feel just fine. my heart just started beating really fast and my stomach felt weird after you pat me on the head, that’s all.” hyeongjun says, tapping his chin. “i didn’t know i was sensitive on my head…”

minhee, knowing full well that he, the garden boy, just made the young prince flustered, blushes a crimson red. the boy is oblivious, minhee thought to himself, trying his best to supress a chuckle.

an awkward silence washed up between them.

“hyeongjun, do you trust me?” minhee finds the words spilling out before he could stop himself.

hyeongjun had been told since he was a child, not to trust others so easily. after all, as king, he should be firm and critical, and not fall for the tricks of neighbouring kingdoms. yet, he found himself nodding without hesitation to minhee’s request, reaching out towards minhee’s extended hand.

and then they ran.

they ran down the flight of stairs near the back of the castle, the cool night breeze brushing their cheeks. their bare feet felt ticklish at the sensations of the soft, velvet carpet and their pyjamas – hyeongjun’s silk set and minhee’s cotton t-shirt and shorts – sticking to their sweat-covered skin. hyeongjun looks around, realising that they must be at the ground floor of the castle, a place he hardly visited, since it’s where the kitchen and guard posts are. minhee sneaks around a corner, hand still grasping hyeongjun’s one tightly, and pushes open a heavy wooden door.

they are greeted with the rush of cool night air. minhee gleams proudly at hyeongjun who had his mouth hanging wide open at the breath-taking sight – an eagle-eye view of his kingdom. the castle was situated on a grassy hill that oversaw the entire kingdom, and it wasn’t often that commoners could visit the castle.

minhee had brought hyeongjun to his safe place, to the place where he could unwind and feel free. and it seemed like hyeongjun felt the same way too.

minhee settles himself onto a patch of flattened grass, smiling at hyeongjun who had his arms spread open, like he was showering himself in the air that smelt like strawberries and fresh apricots with a hint of lavender, a sign that spring was on its way.

“this is beautiful.” hyeongjun whispers and minhee heard it.

“it is.” he replies, a smile in his voice as he leans backwards, making himself comfortable on the patch of soft grass.

the rustling of tall grass filled the comfortable silence between them while they stayed like this for a while, with hyeongjun looking down at the kingdom and minhee tracing the stars with his fingers.

a few moments pass when minhee hears shifting next to him. he finds hyeongjun lying uncomfortably next to him on the damp grass, probably not used to lying on something other than silk sheets.

“here.” minhee sits up and places two arms under his head, demonstrating to hyeongjun. “you can lie down like this. it’ll feel more comfortable.”

hyeongjun follows suit and lies down next to minhee.

“you know, i think you’re pretty cool.” hyeongjun says while stifling a yawn, his voice laced with sleep.

“my friends say that too.” minhee jokes.

“i’m sure they do.”

hyeongjun notices how brightly the stars glowed against the night sky.

“thank you, minhee. for this.”

minhee only hums in response.

he understood what hyeongjun meant.

and so, the young prince and the garden boy fell asleep atop a hill, underneath the night sky that shone only for them.

* * *

**epilogue**

hyeongjun and minhee woke up at the crack of dawn, sneaking back into the castle before they could get caught. as minhee bid farewell to hyeongjun who was still not fully awake, he tip-toed into his living quarters, closing the door as quietly as possible.

“so how was sneaking out with the prince?”

minhee jumped.

“seongmin!” he whisper-shouted. the room was barely lit, but he could recognise the little devil’s voice anywhere, anytime.

“what? you thought i wasn’t awake? man, you really have to work on bowing a little quieter.” seongmin retorted.

minhee rolled his eyes and slumped onto his bed, ignoring the incessant prodding from seongmin. he could feel seongmin’s pout over his shoulder, but he was too tired to answer the other garden boy.

plus, minhee knew that this was only the start of many more adventures to come.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this! and pardon my grammar mistakes bc i am TIRED rn zzz
> 
> follow my twitter if you want @tmwshj! and support cravity who are debuting on 14/04 weeeeeeeee


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